Hoylake, Cheshire; and Rhyl, Flint- shire.—At 9.30 on the night of the 5th of September, 1952, the Formby coast- guard telephoned to the Hoylake life- boat station a report from the Heswall police that two men had left Heswall in a ten-feet sailing dinghy early in the afternoon, but had not returned. At 10.45 the life-boat Oldham IV was launched in a ground swell with a light northerly breeze blowing. She search- ed extensively in the areas Hilbre Swash, Point of Air, Heswall, River Dee and Flint, but found nothing and reached Hoylake again at 5.45 the next morning. At 9.55 the coastguard reported that the dinghy had not returned and asked if the life-boat would search the estuary of the River Dee. The Oldham IV was therefore launched again at 11.20. The Rhyl coastguard had telephoned the Rhyl life-boat station at 10.37, and at 11.10 the life-boat Anthony Robert Marshall was launched. She began to search between the Point of Air and West Rhyl Buoy, but at 11.37 the Oldham IV found the dinghy, upturned, in Hilbre Swash and took it on board.

She searched for the two men and came up with the Rhyl life-boat one and a half miles from Hilbre Island.

Both coxswains decided that a further search for the men would be of no use, and the life-boats returned to their stations. A look-out was kept for the men, but no trace of them was seen.

The Hoylake life-boat reached her station again at 1.50 that afternoon, the 6th, and the Rhyl life-boat reached Rhyl at 4.0. The two men who had sailed in the dinghy lost their lives.

The parents of one of the men asked that donations be made to the Institu- tion's funds in place of floral tributes to their son, and the Institution receiv- ed over £19.—Rewards, Hoylake, 1stservice, £19 6s; 2nd service, £14; Rhyl, £12 7s..